Playing Indiana Jones

Trip Start May 29, 2008

102

Trip End Dec 19, 2008

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Flag of Jordan Petra, Jordan
Sunday, August 10, 2008

Jordan really surprised us as we were really just going because Rachel saw the site on the Indiana Jones movie and thought it would be a cool site to see. We did not have very high expectations coming into the country but it was one of the best countries we visited.

The country is very westernized for a muslim-oriented nation, which was refreshing to us. It was clean and seemed to have more order about it which made it comfortable. We were able to communicate with the locals relatively easily and my Arabic fluency definitely helped. We had a chance to check out Petra, the Dead Sea, the Jerusalem hillside, Jesus' baptism site, Moses burial, and almost was able to make an improvised jaunt down to the Red Sea to do some scuba diving but couldn't due to our previous elevations.

Petra was THE most fascinating site we've seen

Siq

. The city was a lost city for hundreds of years and was kept a secret by many of the locals to insulate it form the out side world. The city was extremely sophisticated for its time as well as it had running water, paved roads, and other amenities that were advanced for its time. Getting to the most famous site took a walk through a little path that curved, ebbed, and flowed. It was maybe 10 feet wide and was used as a street for entering into the city and a market where you could still see shelving carved into the rock that vendors used to sell their goods. Also, we were able to see the hinges on the huge doors that hung at the entrance of this mystical city and kept them protected and isolated from the outside world. After weaving through the streets for a good 20 minutes or so, we finally arrived at the most famous site at Petra - the Treasury. Leading up to the Treasury is almost as amazing as the actual site. The best part about this is that you are surprised when you see it because it appears from out of nowhere. You're walking through the streets and curve around and simply see a sliver of the Treasury and as you approach it, the whole building materializes right before your eyes. The development of the Treasury itself is amazing. Not only was it carved out of a mountain but the way they carved it was not from the bottom up like normal buildings but the craftsmen actually walked up the mountain, suspended themselves from the top with ropes and carved the building from the TOP DOWN! Imagine how much skill and patience that must have taken hanging from the top everyday and whittling away at a stone on a mountain where you don't have a second chance or do-overs if you mess up on the carving. The Treasury was simply a marvel of ancient architecture! The rest of the city was fantastic as well as there were caves built in the mountains for homes, pools in the ground, coliseums, and other stuff that made it a luxurious clandestine city.